The present invention relates to detection of medical abnormalities. In particular, abnormalities are diagnosed through application of a model.
Medical information, such as images, is analyzed to automatically identify an abnormality. Various imaging systems are available, such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance, x-ray, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, positron emission tomography or other imaging. In addition to imaging information, other clinical information, such as age, medical history, symptoms, or other indicators of a likelihood of coronary artery disease, are gathered and used for the assessment.
Classifiers are applied to the obtained data to diagnose any abnormality. Different abnormalities may be distinguished by the classifiers. For binary classification, a classifier distinguishes between two classes, such as normal and abnormal. Where three or more different classes exist, one versus all the rest or one versus one classification is applied. By performing a plurality of different classifications, a class represented by the data is identified.
Cardiac wall motion is analyzed to detect abnormalities. For example, echocardiography (e.g., stress echo) includes segmented wall motion analysis. The left ventricle wall is divided into a plurality of segments (e.g., 16 or 17) according to a standard recommended by the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Various standardized ultrasound views are obtained to acquire image data information for each left ventricular segment. The views are standardized such that plurality of segments is roughly in line with a presumed distribution of three major coronary artery segments. The echocardiographer visually inspects the acquired image data to access global function and regional abnormalities. Based on the cardiographer's assessment, a wall motion score is assigned to each segment in accordance with the ASE scoring scheme. The absolute and relative systolic excursion and timing of excursion is assessed to provide a report of negative (non-pathological) or positive (pathological) findings. The scoring system ranks are normal, hypokinesia, akinesia, dyskinesia and aneurysm. Such wall motion diagnosis may require significant training and experience on the part of the echocardiographer.